An embodiment perspective on the acquisition of speech perception

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics
• Speech Science

Background:

• Early speech acquisition involves understanding the interplay between perception and production.
• The embodiment perspective posits that mental activity is linked to bodily actions.
• Universal motor factors significantly influence early speech production patterns across languages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between perception and production in early speech acquisition.
• To explore the role of motor factors versus perceptual input in shaping speech development.
• To examine the nature of early speech representations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of early speech production data, focusing on consonant and vowel characteristics.
• Evaluation of perceptual influences on the development of oral-nasal balance.
• Examination of production data to identify dominant organizational structures in early speech.

Main Results:

• Motor factors play a primary role in consonant and vowel production preferences.
• Perceptual information is essential for establishing language-specific oral-nasal output balance.
• Early production is organized around a unitary open-close frame driven by mandibular oscillation.

Conclusions:

• Both intrinsic motor factors and extrinsic perceptual information are crucial for early speech acquisition.
• The dominant mandibular oscillation frame may serve as a basis for both perceptual and production organization.
• Rethinking segmental units as the primary basis for early perception and production is warranted.